"He is the master of his own destiny" - Mark Boucher says no formal discussions have happened with Rohit Sharma about his Mumbai Indians future
Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has remarked that despite several murmurs, no formal discussions have taken place about Rohit Sharma's future in the franchise. While Boucher understands there is a mega auction next year, Mumbai wants to take each day as it comes and not jump to quick decisions.
With the franchise unceremoniously replacing Rohit as captain with Hardik Pandya, murmurs have floated about the former leaving the Mumbai Indians after IPL 2024. The 37-year-old's removal as captain sparked widespread backlash among fans, who booed Pandya throughout the season, even at their home, Wankhede Stadium.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Boucher said Rohit's firm concentration is now on the T20 World Cup, beginning on June 1.
"To be honest, there hasn't been many conversations about Rohit's future. I spoke to him last night or the night before, just to do basically a little review of the season. And I said, 'What's next for Rohit Sharma?' and he said to me 'World Cup.' And that's perfect," Boucher said.
"That's all I need to know about what Rohit Sharma's future is. For me, he is the master of his own destiny. It's a big auction next season, who knows what's going to happen? We'll just have to take each day as it comes," he added.
The Nagpur-born cricketer also found form with the bat in MI's last league stage match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), hitting a 38-ball 68 after a lean run of form. The former skipper registered a string of poor scores after a valiant century against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last month. Thus, the latest knock will give fans plenty of confidence in him.
"It's a tough thing to go through as a player" - Mark Boucher on Hardik Pandya
Boucher also sympathized with Hardik Pandya, who received a hostile reception from the fans throughout the season, and felt that it might have impacted his decision-making and performance on the field. The 47-year-old added:
"I think that if [Hardik] was here, he'd also be disappointed in his performances. From a captain's perspective, I thought he had some good games. There's a lot of stuff going on around him that maybe clouded his thoughts every now and again, which I said is tough for him as a leader as well."
"He certainly had a lot of support within our dressing room but it's a tough thing to go through as a player. There's a lot of sympathy for what he's going through. A lot of the stuff he is going through is, I think, uncalled for. It will certainly be a learning curve for Hardik as he grows in leadership."
The 18-run loss to the Super Giants meant that Mumbai Indians finished at No. 10 in the points table.